Pharmacists warn medicine machines could hasten rural pharmacy closures
Tuesday 10th November 2026 on 05:45 in
Estonia
Pharmacists warn that proposed medicine-dispensing machines could hasten the closure of rural pharmacies, ERR reports. The Estonian government approved a draft amendment to the Medicines Act last week that would allow pharmacies to install the machines.
The Social Affairs Ministry says the machines could improve access to medicines. Estonia currently has only three pharmacies open around the clock, meaning people may turn to hospital emergency departments for minor health concerns when they cannot obtain medicines in the evening.
The machines would dispense both over-the-counter and prescription medicines 24 hours a day. Before a purchase, customers would have to consult a pharmacist by video call. Ministry health services adviser Mari Amos said staff would be available around the clock to oversee one or more machines remotely.
Pharmacies have expressed caution about the plan. Ly Rootslane, head of the Estonian Pharmacists’ Association, said pharmacies provide broader health services that machines cannot, including vaccination, measuring health indicators and distributing home tests for cervical cancer screening.
The draft sets limits intended to prevent machines from pushing physical pharmacies out of the market. One pharmacy operator could install up to 10 machines. In settlements with fewer than 4,000 residents, a machine would have to be at least one kilometre from a pharmacy run by another operator.
Rootslane said the restrictions might not be enough to protect small-town pharmacies, several of which have closed in recent years. She warned that a pharmacy could shut down if a machine draws away enough business, potentially leaving the settlement without a pharmacy.
Amos said the viability of rural pharmacies depends mainly on the number of regular customers, and that pharmacies in smaller communities are already closing without competition from machines. She added that installing a machine requires a substantial investment, which operators would need to recoup.
Rootslane said the machines could be useful in larger cities by extending pharmacy opening hours into the evening. Parliament will continue considering the draft. If adopted, the provisions on pharmacy machines are due to take effect on March 1, 2027.